A Town of Tusten Town Board meeting was held on June 11, and unlike several preceding meetings, it went smoothly and quickly. Supervisor Carol Wingert had made a motion to adopt a consent agenda at the May meeting, and it was met with opposition from council member Ned Lang. However, at this meeting, the board used the consent agenda format.

A consent agenda is when items are moved to the agenda without discussion and are voted on as one package. Any council member who wishes to move an item out of the consent agenda to a standalone item for further discussion can do so. Wingert said she wanted to adopt a consent agenda to save time and resources.

One item was moved out of the consent agenda for further discussion, and that was the motion to lift the open container law for the duration of the event Pig Mountain. The board discussed it and Wingert said, “It worked nicely last year, there were no problems.” Lang said, “I think it’s a great idea; I just want to make sure it’s safe.” They voted and all agreed to lift the open container law for Pig Mountain, which will be held August 24.

In other Narrowsburg event news, the fireworks will be held on Thursday, July 4 with a rain date of Saturday. Lang said his company is taking care of the cost, which is about $7,200. He said that they have about $3,000 so far, including $755 from the Tusten Local Development Corporation (TLDC). “We’re a little shy on the funds right now,” he said, adding that, “If anybody has a business interest that this would be helpful to, and they can make it a better event, that would be wonderful.”

The fireworks will be shot off from Irish Hill, which is a different location than in previous years. The board said citizens will be able to see them from the same areas as previous years. It was noted, however, that no one will be allowed to go on the Narrowsburg Bridge because of the construction.

The board also discussed the bridge and construction at length. They said there is no completion date yet, but this phase of work will be done by the end of the summer. After that, the bridge will be closed down to one lane for two years, with no work being done on it because of lack of money.

They discussed traffic patterns and how to ameliorate traffic congestion problems and long lines with signage. When the workers on the bridge are removing and replacing the metal grates, no traffic is allowed to cross the bridge, resulting in waiting times of up to 20 minutes. The board agreed to meet later that week to survey Erie Avenue and Bridge and Main streets to see where signs could work.

The board announced that there will be a special meeting on July 1 at 5 p.m. to declare a lead agency on zoning law amendments. The next town board meeting will be Tuesday, July 9 at 7 p.m.